Chapter 80: Chilling Sensation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 80: Chilling Sensation
“What are you taking, about?”
(What are you talking about, guys?)
Wow.
“Don't scare me like that, I'm really scared of ghost stories!”
(Don't say things like that, you're scaring me. I’m really terrified of ghost stories!)
I’m the one who’s terrified.
No joke, I wish someone would come over and sleep at my place tonight. I’m so scared I want to hold someone's hand while I sleep.
Except for Seo Ye-rin.
“Hyun-ho, let's cross arms!”
(Hyun-ho, let’s link arms!)
“O-okay.”
Ahn Hyun-ho nodded awkwardly and linked arms with her. The moment I saw that, I had no choice but to lower the phone I was using to film.
“W-we should probably do that again.”
It’s not that I particularly like Ahn Hyun-ho, but I actually felt a bit sorry for him right now.
If possible, I wanted to just let it slide. It’s not like I was doing this to bully him; we were in the middle of an assignment, and nobody likes it when things drag on.
But the script clearly said…
“Hey.”
The bright and bubbly expression Senior Ju-hee had while linking arms with Ahn Hyun-ho vanished instantly.
The way she glared at him with a dead-serious face was nothing short of bone-chilling.
“How many times are you going to mess up? You were doing fine in the other scenes earlier, so what the hell is wrong with you now?”
Her twin tails fluttered as she snapped.
Seo Ye-rin, Choi I-seo, and Yoo Ah-rin, who were playing the roles of the followers, each took a step back, making it blatantly obvious they didn't want to get involved. I wanted to pretend I hadn't seen anything either.
Han-gang, you bastard. Running away was the smartest thing you ever did.
“Huh? Let’s do this right, Hyun-ho. It’s exhausting as hell for someone my age to wear twin tails, link arms with a junior, and act like a total airhead.”
“Yes, Senior!”
“Good. If you make another mistake like this next time, I don't know what I'll do.”
Senior Ju-hee tapped Hyun-ho on the shoulder, delivering a threat that wasn't quite a threat. If I were the male lead, I think I would have burst into tears and said I couldn't do it anymore.
The senior took a deep breath and reset her posture. In an instant, she was wearing that bubbly expression again, smiling brightly.
“Let’s go!”
“Pfft!”
…
……
Suddenly, everyone’s eyes were on me.
I had burst out laughing because of the sheer perkiness in her voice, which sounded like a protagonist from a children's cartoon.
“Is it funny?”
Senior Ju-hee approached me slowly.
No, honestly, this wasn't my fault. How could I not laugh when she was being that ridiculous right in front of me?
“Senior, I just remembered a funny story I saw yesterday, and I couldn't help it.”
As I tried to make an excuse while watching her stride toward me, Senior Ju-hee stopped right in front of me and asked.
“Tell it.”
“…”
“If it’s not funny, you’re dead. Tell it.”
“…Once upon a time.”
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
A direct hit to the shoulder from Senior Ju-hee. As I let out an involuntary groan, she glared at me with her fists clenched.
“It’s boring from the very first line.”
I’ll admit it.
Trying to come up with something on the spot made me spout nonsense.
“We’re going again. Focus, and let’s finish this in one take.”
Watching her back as she focused to transform back into the bubbly Min Ju-hee, I was amazed at how much a scholarship could change a person.
For the record, Ahn Hyun-ho caused three more NGs after that and only managed to finish after getting smacked a few times by Senior Ju-hee.
* * *
The movie filming continued through the weekend. There were some hiccups at the start, but once we got into the flow, it didn't take long to film a single scene.
“Aaaaaah!”
Senior Ju-hee, in her Cute Mode, screamed and collapsed. By now, I’d seen it so many times I could say I was used to it.
Honestly, the first time I saw it, I had nightmares.
“Cut!”
As soon as the scene of "Cute Ju-hee" dying was over, she sprang up.
She immediately ripped off the two hair ties she was wearing and chucked them into the trash can.
“Ugh! Finally, that’s over!”
Yes, today was the final day for Cute Mode Senior Ju-hee.
Since her character died in the story, there was no longer any need for her to appear.
By the way, the reason for her death was a rather bizarre plot point where Yoo Ah-rin put cyanide in the coffee Senior Ju-hee was drinking.
“Wow, that came out really well.”
Yoo Ah-rin—the screenwriter, actress, guest, shit-bug, Slave No. 1, and manager—approached me to check the footage.
Despite her complaints about being embarrassed, Senior Ju-hee’s acting was actually quite high-level.
“Right? There’s a reason the senior keeps leaving the filming to me.”
After I filmed once last time, I had just kept doing it.
It wasn't that I was being dumped with extra work; I had volunteered. After filming a few times, I found that the angles and cuts for editing naturally came to mind.
Even now, after putting down the phone, I was jotting down brief notes about the editing points I’d just thought of in a notebook I’d brought along.
“Hm? Hey, you got an inquiry.”
Yoo Ah-rin, who was watching the video on my phone, handed it back to me. I wondered what she meant, but it turned out to be an inquiry sent to the Bamboo Forest.
“What were you going to do if someone else saw this?”
“…I’ve been a bit careless lately because of the filming.”
“You’re not trying to find a Slave No. 2, are you?”
“Why? Do you want me to find one?”
“Honestly, I don't strictly need one. But wouldn't it be convenient? It’d be fun to bully a junior, too.”
What are you, a soldier… no, are you Han-gang?
Even if I did find one, I wasn't sure if Unit 1 and Unit 2 would ever know each other's identities.
After all, even if Lee Eun-woo—the physical therapy senior and fossil who was still active as Anonymous 90—had become Moderator No. 2, I probably wouldn't have told Yoo Ah-rin.
“What is this?”
Yoo Ah-rin, who had checked the inquiry for me, furrowed her brows deeply.
“243 is that otaku they call the Anime Master, right? The one who gets wrecked by 11 every time.”
He was basically the dedicated sandbag for the troll, Anonymous 11. Though Anonymous 243 himself didn't really react much to Anonymous 11.
“Does the Anime Master send stuff like this to you too?”
“You think it’s just the Anime Master?”
Since the inquiry function was essentially a 1:1 chat with the manager, there were quite a few people who used it to say whatever was on their mind.
Just then, another inquiry arrived.
“Wow, this person is even doing this through inquiries.”
“……”
I had no idea why Seo Ye-rin, who said she’d be late today because of an appointment, was sending me this kind of inquiry.
I didn't want to know, so I just ignored it and slid the phone into my pocket.
I didn't want Yoo Ah-rin to see that I had been talking privately with Anonymous 69 if she happened to scroll up.
“That person is relentless. How many months has this Sex Parrot been at it?”
The words 'That’s your high school classmate and best friend' almost jumped out of my mouth, but I forced myself to swallow them.
“I didn't know because I only manage the boards, but I guess you get inquiries like that all the time.”
Yoo Ah-rin, seemingly realizing my hardships, nodded and pulled a lollipop out of her pocket.
I wondered if she was giving it to me because I was working hard, but it went straight into her own mouth.
Feeling a bit annoyed for no reason, I threw a comment her way.
“Hey, but isn't the script getting a bit too crazy? It wasn't this extreme when we planned it at the PC Bang.”
I clearly remembered it being a ghost story with a hint of romance.
Somewhere along the line, it had turned into a story about a psychopathic schoolgirl killing all her friends because of a boy she liked.
At my words, Yoo Ah-rin gave a bitter smile.
She looked like an author writing what the world wanted rather than what she actually desired.
“The professor is on the older side, you know. Apparently, he prefers this kind of 'makjang' drama style. Senior Ju-hee asked the 3rd-year seniors who took this class, and they said intense stuff like this gets better grades.”
“Hah, and here I thought it was about 'narrative integrity' or whatever.”
“I guess this is what integrity looks like to the professor. From what I can tell, he’s probably a hardcore fan of morning soap operas.”
As we were chatting and snickering, Yoo Ah-rin’s phone suddenly rang.
She actually has quite a few friends, so she gets contacted often.
Since I was right next to her, I naturally saw the phone screen.
— Pyo Jin-ho -
“Is his last name Pyo?”
I thought it was an unusual surname, but Yoo Ah-rin stared at the screen for a moment before sliding away.
“I’m gonna go take this call.”
And with that, she was gone.
I wondered what Senior Ju-hee was doing, and saw her over in the smoking area, lighting up.
Judging by her still-crumpled expression, she must have really hated that Cute Mode.
‘The filming is almost over.’
There were still quite a few major scenes left to shoot, but in any case, there was less time remaining than what we’d already spent.
Honestly, my hands have been itching lately.
I’d downloaded an editing program and had been studying through Neutube; editing turned out to be a pretty interesting field.
Even though it started because of an assignment, I wanted to properly use what I’d learned from Neutube, so I even paid for a one-month subscription to a professional editing program.
‘I want to try it soon.’
At first, it was a chore, and later I only started because I was wary of Senior Ju-hee.
But in the end, isn't it a good thing that I’m actually learning things and finding interest in it?
Seo Ye-rin, Choi I-seo, and Ahn Hyun-ho were supposed to join us in a bit, so I figured I could rest for a while, but then…
Vrrr!
My phone rang.
Speak of the devil; I thought it might be either Seo Ye-rin or Choi I-seo, but…
— Jeong Chan-woo -
Unexpectedly, but welcomingly, it was Chan-woo. Since it was the weekend, he should be working his part-time job at the PC Bang.
“Moshi moshi.”
I answered with a smile, but…
— Woo-jin.
Chan-woo’s voice sounded unusual.
I could hear the typical clamor of a PC Bang in the background, but his lowered voice suggested something was up.
— Is Ah-rin there with you right now?
“She is, but she stepped away for a moment to take a call.”
At my words, Chan-woo let out a sigh of relief before making a request.
— If possible, can you stay with Ah-rin for the rest of the day? Just make sure she doesn't come anywhere near the PC Bang.
“That’s not hard, but I’d like to know why.”
I’m not nice enough to just help without knowing anything. I wanted to know the reason, but I heard someone calling Chan-woo’s name from a distance.
Sounding rushed, Chan-woo explained hurriedly.
— Sorry. I’ll explain later. Or… just tell Ah-rin that Pyo Jin-ho is here.
Pyo Jin-ho?
“Uh…”
I was about to say that was the person Yoo Ah-rin just got a call from.
Click.
Chan-woo hung up.
“What the…?”
The atmosphere felt strange, so I headed toward where Yoo Ah-rin had gone to take her call.
“Yoo Ah-rin?”
She was nowhere to be seen.
A chilling sensation washed over me.
I’d felt this once before, though I couldn't quite remember when.
“Yoo Ah-rin!”
Anyway, starting from Chan-woo’s call just now, there were too many ominous signs.
“Where are you?!”
She wasn't the type to just disappear without a word, so I hurriedly searched for her number while scanning the surroundings.
“Hey! Yoo Ah-riiiin!”
“Ugh, why are you calling me, you jerk?!”
Just then, Yoo Ah-rin walked out from the distant restroom. She was shaking the water off her hands as if she’d just washed them, looking annoyed.
‘Ah.’
I remembered when I’d felt this way before. It was exactly like the time I made a huge fuss thinking Min-ji was going to make an extreme choice when I went to meet her.
“Why were you shouting like that?”
Looking at Yoo Ah-rin as she grumbled her way toward me, I replied with a straight face.
“I didn't call you.”
“Bullshit. What’s going on?”
“I told you, I didn't call you. I was singing a pop song. You are in~.”
Since I didn't know any actual pop songs, I just hummed a random tune. Yoo Ah-rin looked at me with an expression of pure disgust.
“If you’re gonna do a clown show, do it over a toilet bowl.”
“……”
Bitch.